Lauded playwright Terrence McNally breathed his last on Tuesday, Mar. 24, in Florida, citing complications from the coronavirus, CNN Entertainment reported.

The 81-year-old was honored with the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre last year. McNally's publicist, Matt Polk, said the award-winning playwright died in a Sarasota, Florida-based hospital. While he had survived lung cancer, McNally was battling an equally threatening lung disease dubbed COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), Polk said.

Two of McNally's books, including 1988's musicals "Ragtime" and 1993's "Kiss of the Spider Woman," received Tony Awards. Aside from that, his plays entitled "Master Class" and "Love! Valour! Compassion!" were also awarded. Some of his works include musicals "The Full Monty" and "Anastasia," as well as "Mothers and Sons," a play that revolves around a mother whose son lost the battle against AIDS, according to a report from Playbill.

Wedded to Tom Kirdahy, a renowned Broadway producer, McNally was openly gay who didn't miss an opportunity to showcase the lives of gay men through his plays. McNally and Kirdahy were joined in a civil union in Vermont back in 2003 and joined in holy matrimony in Washington, DC in 2010.

McNally's career comprised controversy-plagued subjects matter. For instance, at just 24, he wrote his first Broadway play entitled "And Things That Go Bump in the Night," which garnered unfavorable reviews. Newsday described it as "ugly, perverted, tasteless" and it was closed in under three weeks.

During an interview with Vogue magazine in 1995, McNally jokingly said, if there was a contest for worst first-place reviews, he would win effortlessly. Nevertheless, he stayed the course and wrote other plays including about twelve musicals and numerous operas.

When he received Tony Awards last year, McNally was using breathing tubes that were noticeable on top of his tuxedo. Facetiously, he noted that the award was given "not a moment too soon." Speaking about theater during the award ceremony, he said people truly live in them and we need artists that help us understand what kindness, beauty, and truth are.

McNally completed his English degree in 1960 at the Columbia University in New York and graduated with high honors. He was born in St. Petersburg, a city in Florida. He garnered popularity at the age of 48, as he continued winning awards.

Some of his acclaimed works include "Teeth Apart" and "Lips Together," both based on the topic of AIDS. One of McNally's comedic plays called "The Ritz" focused on gay characters and was touted as a mainstream hit.